Class President: 'We Are Standing on the Brink of a Future'

Editor's note: The following is a transcript from the address by graduate Jennifer Phan, president 's class of 2011. Also, check our full and a with the best moments from Sunday's ceremony.

"Good afternoon Principal Skidmore, teachers, faculty members, parents, family and friends. I’m happy to welcome you to celebrate our freedom—I mean, graduation.

I thought we’d never get here. I remember my eighth grade graduation milling around the wood gym, taking pictures with our friends and families, hugging and crying for what would become of us. We were scared to moved on.

High school. I never realized it would bring so many changes. When I walked through those front doors as a fresh meat—sorry, freshmen—, I felt big, invincible and mature. Though I was excited to finally say I was a high schooler, I had many fears sitting in the back of my head. Would I be in a class with any of my friends? How will I find them at lunch? Will teachers give a lot of homework? Will classes be too hard? And worst of all, what if I get lost?

But soon enough, all of my fears subsided and I, along with all of you, found the right classes, the right teachers, and best of all, found the right friends. For anyone who remember Tomoki, I’m pretty sure he was a friend to everyone so this is a shout out to him.

We had no idea about the implications of the journey we were beginning. We were innocent, naïve and immature, living in a shell that became our comfort zone where we became content with our friends, our favorite hangout places and our favorite everything else. But then we finally nestled in and became comfortable with high school that in the last four years, we’ve gradually changed, breaking our shells, taking risks and trying new things.

And here we are now, class of 2011, standing on the brink of a future, entering the real world. But we couldn’t have made it this far without the people who have helped us on the way. Special thanks to the parents who saved us leftovers in the microwave because we were up typing papers the day before it was due. To out family for being our biggest support, you guys were there for us whenever we needed you. To the teachers and faculty members, thanks or fighting our frustrations and struggles—you never gave up on us nor let us give up on ourselves. To the best friends that have been there for us through thick and thin, your compassion is not forgotten.

And to the people that came and went in our lives, the ones we’ve had a fallout with, I’d like to thank you especially because you’ve influenced us to be who we are today. It’s not a matter of growing apart, but a matter of growing up; and your presence in our lives has made a big difference. High school has been a rough ride, but in the long run, when we look over the last four years, you’ve made it a smooth sail.

In fact, high school has taught us to challenge ourselves, testing to see if we can survive our own in order to overcome our struggles. We’ve learned to set our goals so that we may never take our eyes off of it, because once we do, all we will see are obstacles.

Though we came here to get an education, we are walking away with more than that. We are leaving here with amazing friends, life lessons and memories. After today, we will begin a new chapter in our lives that will lead us away from each other. But the memories we’ve shared will stay. These years that have passed have been rewarding and our experience will be there to guide us as we branch out into the open world.

And as we leave here today, there’s one question in the back of all our minds. And the question is: “What’s next?” Honestly, there isn’t a real answer. So it’s up to us to create our future and what we make of ourselves. We have a long road ahead of us. In fact, we have a couple of decades since we’re not at that awkward state between high school and retirement.

So fellow graduates, I urge you today to embrace the opportunity before you, step out of your comfort zone, build on your success, follow your passion and keep dreaming, because when I was younger, I would say, “When I grow up, I want to be famous, I want to be a star, I want to be in movies, I want to see the world, drive nice cars, I want to have groupies,” to quote the Pussycat Dolls. But seriously, the most important thing is to stay true to yourself, never follow someone else’s path—unless you’re lost in the woods, then you should by all means follow those footsteps."